The ''Magistrato alle Acque'' () was a collective magistracy of the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
, responsible for
water management
Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slight ...
in the
Venetian Lagoon. It comprised a series of boards of magistrates established in the early 16th century, and existed until the
Fall of the Republic of Venice
The fall of the Republic of Venice was a series of events that culminated on 12 May 1797 in the dissolution and dismemberment of the Republic of Venice at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte and Habsburg Austria.
In 1796, the young general Napoleo ...
in 1797. Between 1907 and 2014, the body was revived by the Italian state, with responsibilities extending over the entire
Veneto
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and the
Province of Mantua.
Foundation and history in the Republic of Venice
Situated in the
Venetian Lagoon, water was vital to the city and state of
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
: the lagoon and its waterways were vital commercial arteries, but also provided the best defence for the city of Venice and guaranteed its independence. In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, the lagoon was administered by the ''Curia publicorum'', commonly known as the ''
Poviego'', established in 1282 by merging previous boards charged with the maintenance of the city's canals. The ''Poviego'' shared this role with the ''
Provveditori di Común'', and in the 15th century with the highest organs of the Venetian government, the
Council of Ten
The Council of Ten ( it, Consiglio dei Dieci; vec, Consejo de i Diexe), or simply the Ten, was from 1310 to 1797 one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice. Elections took place annually and the Council of Ten had the power to i ...
and the
Venetian Senate
The Senate ( vec, Senato), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, la, Consilium Rogatorum), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice.
Establishment
The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or le ...
.
While until the 15th century the city's constant growth meant that the Lagoon was administered from the perspective of an environment of urban expansion and administration, the slowing of that growth gave way to a view that the lagoon had to be preserved. As a result, in 1501 the three-member board of the ''Savi alle Acque'' () was created by the Ten, charged with maintaining the waterways and the lagoon; as the Venetian patrician Girolamo Priuli noted, with some exaggeration, their chief task was to "keep the lagoon from becoming mainland". The ''Savi'' were an executive council, followed in 1505 by the much larger ''Collegio delle Acque'' ('College of the Waters'), which took over decision-making on hydraulical matters from the Ten and the Senate. Along with the ''Savi'', the ''Collegio'' also comprised the
Doge of Venice
The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 ...
himself, and a number of other members, usually around fifty, usually veteran and high-ranking members of the Venetian government. In 1521, another three-member board, the ''Esecutori alle Acque'' ('Executors on the Waters') was created. Finally, in 1678, the position of ''Inquisitore'' was established.
Like most magistracies of the Venetian Republic, these councils were filled by election for fixed terms exclusively from among the Venetian patriciate. To provide expert assistance, the magistracy employed a number of professional personnel, including secretarial staff and hydraulic technicians. Known as the ''periti'' or ''proti'' (sing. ''proto''), these were drawn from the burghers (''cittadini ordinari'') and held their position for life. From 1542, the post of a ''Matematico pubblico'' ("Public Mathematician") was also instituted to provide expert advice.
In addition, in a semi-ritualized practice, the ''Collegio delle Acque'' employed the advice of eight experienced fishermen nominated from the fishing guilds of the Lagoon's main settlements.
The duties of the magistracy were to keep the Lagoon from
silting up
Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary or ...
, maintain the entries to the Lagoon open for navigation, maintain the sandbars (''lidi'') intact, and regulate the rivers flowing into the Lagoon. In addition, the magistracy also had a fiscal aspect, as it was responsible for the collection of a five percent
inheritance tax, through which it financed its work.
The importance of the Lagoon for Venice also meant that the ''Magistrato alle Acque'' enjoyed a higher authority and priority than other competing agencies, most notably the ''
Provveditori sopra Beni Inculti'', founded in 1556 to promote the cultivation of lands in Venice's
mainland possessions in the
Veneto
it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman)
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: on issues related to the management of the rivers feeding the Lagoon, the ''Magistrato alle Acque'' invariably had the final say, leading to aborted requests for irrigation, or canalization of the
Sile,
Brenta, and
Piave rivers in ways that ensured the uninterrupted supply of the Lagoon, but exposed their surroundings to frequent flooding.
The ''Magistrato alle Acque'' in modern Italy
The original ''Magistrato alle Acque'' disappeared with the
fall of the Republic of Venice
The fall of the Republic of Venice was a series of events that culminated on 12 May 1797 in the dissolution and dismemberment of the Republic of Venice at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte and Habsburg Austria.
In 1796, the young general Napoleo ...
in 1797, but in 1907, the magistracy was re-established by the Italian state as a public institution. The ''Magistrato alle Acque'' was led by a chairman named by the
President of the Italian Republic
President most commonly refers to:
* President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
in agreement with the council of ministers. Its seat was in the
Palazzo dei Dieci Savi Venice, and it managed the entirety of
Triveneto
The Triveneto (), or Tre Venezie () ( vec, Tre Venesie, german: Venetien), is a historical region of Italy. The area included what has become the three Italian regions of ''Venezia Euganea'', ''Venezia Giulia'' and ''Venezia Tridentina''. This ter ...
basin.
Its powers are primarily exercised over the Veneto region as well as the
Province of Mantua. However, for external projects that may affect its area of interest, the ''Magistrato alle Acque'' may extend its authority until the autonomous region of
Trentino-Alto Adige as well as the region
Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The governance of this institution remain based around the surveillance of the lagoon area but may now concern the operations of desalination, improvement, and port regulation.
It was abolished in 2014 in the wake of a corruption scandal in the
MOSE Project Mose, Mosè, or Mosé is a given name which may refer to:
People In religion
* Mose Durst, former president of the Unification Church of the United States
* Mosé Higuera, Colombian Catholic bishop
* Mosè Tovini, Italian Roman Catholic priest
I ...
.
References
Sources
*
*
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{{Authority control
Government of the Republic of Venice
Venetian Lagoon
16th-century establishments in the Republic of Venice
1907 establishments in Italy
2014 disestablishments in Italy
Water management authorities